clatter
Americanverb (used without object)
-
clatters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
clattered,
past participle, past
-
clattering
present participle
-
to make a loud, rattling sound, as that produced by hard objects striking rapidly one against the other.
The shutters clattered in the wind.
-
to move rapidly with such a sound.
The iron-wheeled cart clattered down the street.
-
to talk fast and noisily; chatter.
They clattered on and on about their children.
verb (used with object)
-
clatters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
clattered,
past participle, past
-
clattering
present participle
noun
-
a rattling noise or series of rattling noises.
The stagecoach made a terrible clatter going over the wooden bridge.
-
noisy disturbance; din; racket.
-
noisy talk; din of voices.
They had to shout over the clatter at the cocktail party.
-
idle talk; gossip.
verb
-
to make or cause to make a rattling noise, esp as a result of movement
-
(intr) to chatter
noun
-
a rattling sound or noise
-
a noisy commotion, such as one caused by loud chatter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
clattersimple
-
clatterssimple
-
have clatteredperfect
-
has clatteredperfect
-
am clatteringprogressive
-
are clatteringprogressive
-
is clatteringprogressive
-
have been clatteringperfect progressive
-
has been clatteringperfect progressive
Past
-
clatteredsimple
-
had clatteredperfect
-
was clatteringprogressive
-
were clatteringprogressive
-
had been clatteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clatter
before 1050; Middle English clateren, Old English clatr- (in clatrunge ); cognate with Dutch klateren to rattle; see -er 6
Explanation
A clatter is a clacking or rattling sound, like the clatter of horse hooves on pavement or the clatter of toys being thrown down a wooden staircase by an angry child. Clatter is also a verb, meaning "to make a continuous rattling or clanking sound." You might clatter down the school hallway in your clogs, or watch your dogs clatter across a frozen pond, their toenails clicking on the ice. Clatter comes from the Old English onomatopoeic clatrung, "a clattering," or simply "noise."
Vocabulary lists containing clatter
Unit 4: Powerful Openings
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Milkweed
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Lend Me Your Ears: Sound Words
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Couture’s” three principals rarely interact with one another, but those meaningful exchanges argue that, amid the mad clatter of the everyday, a brief, unguarded moment with a stranger can be supremely restorative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
The shuffling clatter of domino-shaped ceramic tiles drowned out the women’s laughter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Aromatics are where things begin: ginger, garlic, onions and their cousins; the soft clatter of mirepoix or soffritto; a bloom of spices warming in fat.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2026
A nationwide noise ordinance is supposed to limit the din, especially late at night, but residents say the courtside clatter often goes unmuted.
From Barron's ● Dec. 28, 2025
The clatter of Uhmma in the kitchen finally draws me out of my room.
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
“Slap the City” clatters and coos with R&B falsetto and at least makes the blank nihilism of Drake’s dating life feel self-aware.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
She watches a humanoid robot totter around a demonstration kitchen until it trips on a chair and clatters to the ground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
The 19-year-old's quickest time on the board so far is a 1:18.667 and on his latest run, clatters the kerbs in the borrowed Haas.
From BBC ● May 16, 2024
He clatters into the Burkina Faso captain Koffi in goal.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 29, 2022
The burner David gave me clatters to the floor.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
But the moment that may have sealed Argentina’s fate came in the final minutes of second-half stoppage time when Enzo Fernández clattered into Spanish center back Pau Cubarsí at midfield, flipping him head over heels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
A long ball was played forward and Bosnia goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj leapt and punched the ball, but then on the follow-through his fists clattered into the head of Canada striker Tani Oluwaseyi.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Busy markets sold butchered meats and fast-wilting vegetables, horse carts clattered, children shouted, and men and women gossiped in coffeehouses and read from printed newspapers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
But moments later Davide Bartesaghi clattered into Mikael Ellertsson, leaving Stanciu with the task of beating France goalkeeper Mike Maignan and taking a shock three points.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
The stones clattered harmlessly off the wall and fell back to the road.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Andres Cubas escaped a booking after clattering into Adrien Rabiot.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
“Ups & Downs” is an instrumental with a droning keyboard—perhaps a harmonium—along with a clarinet and clattering percussion that sounds like a drum kit being slowly unpacked from its case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
We were approached by two hikers who were — teeth clattering incessantly and clothes soaked — ill-equipped for the evening.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
Johnson was dismissed in the 55th minute after clattering into Lopez, a needless challenge that initially earned a yellow card from Erik Lambrechts before VAR sent him trudging to the dressing room.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2025
There’s a great clattering of dishes and trays from the kitchen, dropped silverware, people bumping into tables and one another as we’re all thrown into darkness.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
